To the President and Members of the National Masonic Convention now Sitting in Chicago, Sept. 4th, 1877:
Your committee that was appointed to investigate the origin of Freemasonry in the State of Texas beg leave to make the following report:
We have carefully investigated the matter of the origin of Freemasonry in the State of Texas and we find that it appears from the record that Freemasonry was first established in the State of Texas by Wm. D. Mathews, Grand Master of the King Solomon Grand Lodge of Compact Masons for the State of Kansas which at the time the said King Solomon Grand Lodge of Kansas was under and subordinate to the National Compact Grand Lodge of North America.
We further find that the said Grand Lodge of Texas that C. C. Dean is the Grand Master of that, the said Grand Lodge of Texas, when organized January 19th, 1875, did not follow and comply with the landmarks and laws of Freemasonry and that the said Grand Lodge of Texas is an unlawful and irregular Grand Lodge and that the delegates from the Grand Lodge of the State of Texas to this National Masonic Convention are not entitled to seats in this National Masonic Convention,
Fraternally Submitted,
E. A. WILLIAMS, of Nebraska,
H. D. VENA, of Michigan,
J. H. BANKS, of Rhode Island,
Committee.
FIRST REGULAR AND LEGAL GRAND LODGE OF COLORED MASONS IN UNITED STATES AT WASHINGTON, D. C., 1895.
The first Grand Lodge of Colored Masons in the United States that was healed and Masonically set right was the Grand Lodge of Colored Masons of the District of Columbia which H. C. Scott is the Grand Master of. It occurred in the year of 1895 by the duly accredited representatives from the White Masonic Grand Lodge of Romania, Germany.